


Christmas Teddy

by DemonicPiano



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Christmas fic, Established Relationship, Gift Giving, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, USUKUS, could be canonverse could be AU IDGAF, lots of kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28189215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonicPiano/pseuds/DemonicPiano
Summary: Arthur and Alfred exchange Christmas presents and Alfred feels inadequate about the gift he gives to his boyfriend.
Relationships: America/England (Hetalia)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	Christmas Teddy

It's almost Christmas. Arthur crouched before his open refrigerator, making sure he had all the rolls and pies and biscuits and goodies for the dinner, checking off everything on his mental list including the presents, chores, typical holiday odds-and-ends for the forth time. Under his scrutiny, there was not one egg out of place. Tonight, he would lay out the presents beneath the tree (they were already waiting in the livingroom for him), and tomorrow, he would make one last round through the house to make sure there was not a knick-knack out of place. The guests would arrive the day of, all but one-

A knock came from the front room. Arthur jumped, closing the refrigerator as he stared in the direction of the front door. Another flurry of knocking. He hurried out of the kitchen and took a peek through the peep-hole, eyebrows raising in surprise. He fiddled with the lock, fingers suddenly not working right until he managed, and opened the door to a tall, adorable man whose face lit up brighter than any Christmas tree, _"Arthur!"_ Quick hands snagged Arthur clean from his doorway and crushed him to a puffy winter coat, a perfect spot to be tackled with eager, noisy kisses, "Mwah! _Mw-w-w-w-w-w-w-ah!"_

"Alfred!" Arthur squirmed uselessly. His boyfriend had the kindest steel grip around his body. Another smooch. Another. "All right! All right," he laughed, grunting happily as Alfred planted a big one right on the lips. "You done yet?"

"Never."

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment and smiled into this one. "What are you doing here? You're a day early."

"I thought I could get here before all the guests did and maybe have a night or two for ourselves. You know...for some...holiday lovin'..."

Arthur let off a shiver. "You're daft. Come inside."

Alfred planted a last, wet kiss on his cheek before they pulled apart from one another enough to step inside. "Happy Christmas Eve's Eve, babe! Get it? Because it's the day before Christmas Eve, so that makes it the _eve_ of Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve's Eve."

"Oh, yes, charming." Arthur hurried to close the door, and hurried back to Alfred, smiling down at the sparkly Christmas bag at his side before standing on his toes for another kiss, just to make sure he remembered how soft and warm Alfred's lips were.

"I missed you, baby."

Arthur hummed, pleased with not being the first one to admit it. "I missed you, too." He held his palm to Alfred's wind-chilled cheek for a moment, warming and being warmed as Alfred closed his eyes and nudged his hand. He could stand there all night, but ah, things to do. He pulled away to tidy anything on the way to the livingroom as Alfred's heavy bootsteps followed, "I didn't expect guests this early, so I'm not quite prepared yet."

"Is there supposed to be a mess somewhere?"

"Well, no, but I don't even have the fireplace lit. Put your bag on the table, make yourself at home. Oh. _Welcome_ home."

"It's nice to be home," Alfred admitted, and it was a good thing Arthur had his back toward him, since a goofy smile took over his face. When he turned around, the fireplace's flickers began to dance against the hardwood floors, and he caught Alfred peeking into the Christmas bag he held, giving a few adjustments to whatever was inside based on the crinkling of tissue paper. He looked up, snapping the bag shut and pulled a nervous grin.

Arthur plucked his coat and hat from where he laid it on the couch, purposely brushing against his boyfriend and the bag as he went to the coat rack by the front door. "Do you want something to warm you up, darling? And I don't have any coffee."

"You have cocoa?"

"That I do." Arthur decided to heat enough milk for two.

"Oh, you got the kind with marshmallows!" Alfred's legs did a dance, knees nicking the coffee table when Arthur set down a coaster and a steaming mug. His eyes glimpsed over the cartoonish Santa building a snowman on the present bag before settling warmly on Alfred performing another wiggle. "You're the best." _Siiiiip,_ "Ouch!"

"Yes, I should have said it just came off the hot stove..."

"It's good!" Alfred gave a signature grin, but soon soured to stick his tongue out, "Umph, mah tung's tinglin'."

"Idiot," Arthur sighed fondly, settling on the edge of the couch to reach over the arm. He was most prepared, and set a miniature tower of gifts of various shapes and sizes on the coffee table.

Alfred's eyes went wide, and he lowered his mug from his face, gawping like a child peeking through the stair railings on Christmas morning. He swallowed and set his cocoa down with a sniffle, wriggle, and then an uneasy smile; it didn't reach his lovely blue eyes. "Wow, you're spoiling me."

Arthur set an innocent hand on Alfred's knee, "You haven't even unwrapped your gifts yet."

Alfred pulled another awkward, now half-smile and reached for the top present: a thin rectangle with a frilly Christmas bow that took up half its size. Arthur smiled into his own cocoa and tipped back to the sound of giftwrap crinkling. "Actually, Arthur, can we turn on some Christmas jams? And the lights? And turn off the regular lights? Do you have any Santa hats?" When Arthur gave him a long stare, he insisted, waving his present around, "It'll get the holiday mood groovin', you know!"

A sigh, and Arthur had to set his cocoa down to give his boyfriend a peck on the cheek. "You're a dork. You pick out the music, but no screamo covers this time."

"Okaaaaay."

Arthur went around the room, flicking on the fairy lights and flicked off the table lamps and left the room for a hunt of festive headwear. Where would those be? Below the sock drawer? In the tote that's under the bed that he will not mentally describe at the moment? It wasn't much of an adventure, but he found a headband with felt reindeer bobble-heads and snagged a Santa hat from the empty Christmas decoration tote, pleased his search was a success. He almost slipped on the headband, but considered Alfred would look cuter with it instead. When he stepped inside the livingroom, his ears were blasted with the nefarious jingle of the most typical of holiday cheer, _'ALLIWANTFORCHRISTMASISYOOOOOOOOOOOU-'_

Alfred sat, slumped against the sofa with a muddled look on his face, but snapped to attention with a grin and a, "Arthur!" as soon as Arthur stepped into view. He immediately blessed Alfred's head with those bobbly little reindeer and knelt down to kiss the tip of his nose. "Okay, there's the holiday atmosphere." The seat huffed beneath Arthur's behind and he took his cocoa again. "Go wild."

Alfred tore through the rest of the first present, and stuck the bow onto Arthur's hat before doing an excited jig, "It's the Gold Edition of that sword-gun game I like!"

"You've been raving about it for months and yet you still don't know how to pronounce the name." Arthur gave his boyfriend's hair a fond ruffle, minding the headband.

Alfred flinched and giggled, "You know what video games look like."

"I've been watching you play them for how long?"

"So you have been watching me! I totally catch you peeking over your books!"

Arthur grunted, chalking up the warmth in his cheeks to the steam coming from his mug as Alfred snagged another present. A bigger, but still flat box. He pulled out a thick flannel jacket with a loud gasp. "Hm, yes, thought it would be good for you to keep warm. You know how winters here are."

Alfred squished to his side, nuzzling his nose to Arthur's cheek before folding the flannel back onto the table. As he tore into another present, Arthur set down his cocoa and reached for the bag.

_"No!"_

Arthur jumped at a hand clutching onto his wrist. Alfred looked like he saw a ghost (he couldn't see them, but being told about it made him freak out enough), so Arthur asked, "Did you put poison in the bag for me, love?"

"No, no! I just..." Alfred let go to fiddle with the box in his lap. "I, um, I want you to open my present last."

"What," Arthur teased, "and make me watch you have all the fun?"

"Uh, well, it's just...you got me so much stuff and I may have only gotten you one thing..."

"I'm sure it's worth just as much as all the silly little things I got you," Arthur reached for the bag again.

Alfred yelled, "Wait! It...it...!"

Arthur raised a singular brow. "It's not?"

"Um, well...like I said, it's just the one thing...and you got me so many things, and like..." Quickly, "I-might-be-feeling-inadequate-about-the-thing-I-got-you-right-about-now."

That simply made Arthur want to peek in the bag more. He retracted his hand with a half-grin, ensured it was all part of the holiday spirit for Alfred to pretend his present wasn't over the top and a spectacle like he usually does. "All right," he resigned to settle against the back of the couch with his drink, enjoying the show, "you have your fun now, but you'll have to watch me have _my_ fun later."

"Y-yeah, sounds like a deal." Alfred peeled away the wrapping paper to his next gift, letting it fall to the floor as he tipped a large square, brightly colored box with lots of letters and arrows on it. He gasped, "Oh, oh, is this one of those mini-pinball machines?! Dude! This is so awesome!"

If he really was going that far with it, Arthur vowed that he will show just as much appreciation and enthusiasm for Alfred's gift that night, simply because he can, simply because Alfred is there at that time just for their sake. Still, he couldn't keep an eye off that bag...

A few more gifts, and Alfred almost carefully removed the wrapping paper like he was going to reuse it. He usually rips everything off, eager to get into things. Arthur smiled into his cocoa, unable to help ruffle Alfred's hair again. The rest of the presents comprised of: a burger mug—yes, a mug that looked like a burger with a French-fry handle—an obligatory pair of Christmas socks (which would look wonderful on Alfred's tan, bare legs), and last, but certainly not least, a picture of them taking a selfie before a goofy antimorphic character by seaside shops during one of their vacations a few summers ago...the same vacation Alfred wound up getting tipsy on strawberry daquiris and professed his love before falling off the hotel bed. There was a postcard from the state beside it, and the entire page was trimmed by a paper strip of seashells and crabs.

"What is this? A scrapbook? It's empty."

"So far. Did you look inside the pages?"

Alfred did, flicking through the names of states from the other side of the ocean, and repeated, "It's empty?"

"That's because we haven't gotten there yet, love."

It only took a second to process, and Alfred dropped the booklet on the cushion next to him in favor of shaking and raising his arms before squeezing around Arthur to give him dozens of cocoa-dipped kisses. His lips were sticky, and Arthur turned his face away with a barely-suppressed grin to set his mug on the table before it would spill, but that left his cheek open for attack.

"I love you, and I miss you, and...I love you! _Mwah!"_

"All right, Alfr-"

_"Mwah! Mw-w-w-w-ah! Mw-"_

"Oi!" Arthur clamped his hand over Alfred's mouth, laughing, "You better stop, or else we're not getting to your present tonight, and I'm going to feel bad about it."

Alfred pulled away, blinking in surprise before glancing toward the Christmas bag. "Oh! Yeah, that!"

Arthur gave him a weird look before reaching over to pull the bag onto his lap. Alfred leaned back, setting an arm over the back of the couch and drummed his fingers against his leg. A nervous tick. Or he couldn't keep still. Extra carefully, Arthur pressed both hands into the bag, getting a feel of a shape and texture against the tissue paper. Something soft. A plush? Clothing? No, it was too solid to be clothing, yet too defined to be a rolled up blanket. He smiled and pulled out a...a...what the hell was it?

"It's...it's a...teddy?"

"Yeah. Does it _not_ look like a teddy?"

"It does! It does." Arthur stared into its cheap, lifeless and plastic pink eyes. The right arm sprouted out of the thing's neck, significantly shorter than the left arm. The legs were two fuzzy barrels with felt on the ends. A singular curve of thread posed as an upturned mouth beneath a wobbly nose. He fiddled one of the ears; those seemed all right.

"Oh," Alfred reached over and pinched the red ribbon around the bear's neck, "the bow got a little crooked."

It took all of Arthur's lifetime of willpower to not point out that _the entire thing was crooked._ He met Alfred's steady eyes. He had to say _something._ Something soon. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Alfred pulled a half-attempt of a smile. "You don't like it, do you?"

"No, no, I do," Arthur quickly said, giving the stump-arm a bob. He winced at the thread poking through the neck junction. "It's quaint."

"It's _terrible._ You got me all this cool stuff and you're sitting here with...with _that,_ and-"

"I said nothing of the sort."

"I can see it on your face!"

Arthur lifted the teddy and hid his face behind it.

"Arthuuuuuur!" Alfred plucked the poor thing from his hands and hunched his shoulders when Arthur made a move to grab it. "Quit it! The thing's ugly. I get it."

"Well, is it _supposed_ to be ugly? Maybe it's one of those creatures with some sort of charm-"

"So you do think it's ugly!"

"I _asked,_ I didn't say!"

Alfred sighed and held the teddy at arms' length, staring at its beady eyes, and shook his head. "I don't know what I was thinking when I got this for you."

Arthur nonchalantly scooted closer, giving the plush a pitiful look. "Well, where did you get this from? Maybe we can return it. It could be a defect-"

"It's not a defect!" Alfred squawked, turning away to shield the teddy from Arthur's gaze.

"So...it _is_ supposed to be ugly."

"No, it's not!"

"Really? Hm, strange, given how it's all put together." Arthur held out his arms. "Let me see it."

_"Nnn!"_

"Alfred."

Alfred curled over the teddy, putting his back up. "Noooooo!"

Arthur lunged forward and squeezed under his arms. "Give me the damn teddy!"

"It's ugly! It's ugly! It's ugly!"

"I'm going to start tickling you!"

"Ugh!" Alfred pulled out the stuffed animal and held it out without looking over his shoulder. Arthur gently took it with a grin while his boyfriend stayed curled in his ball, face down on the couch.

"Let's see here. It's put together enough that you can recognize what it's supposed to be. That is a good start. The material is decent; the fur is soft and manageable enough it won't get matted. However," Arthur wondered if he imagined the way Alfred twitched, "pink is a bit of an odd color choice, especially against a brown like this." He gave one of the eyes a light flick, "Using a knobby button such as this one instead of a traditional shirt button or glass eyes exposes the thread to friction considering how loose they are from the socket. Speaking of thread...this is much too thin to be holding joints together. It is a matter of time until there's a tug too much and one of the...err...arms come off-"

Alfred clamped his hands over his head, staying down, and warbled something Arthur didn't understand.

"Like I said, we can return it. Unless you didn't pay that much, I'm more than fine keeping it-"

"We can't return it."

"Pardon?"

"I said. We can't return it."

"Ah, yes, given the time of year, stores are going to have lines out the door-"

"It's because it's handmade!"

"It's...err, what?"

"Mmph!"

"Handmade by whom?"

"Who do you think?!"

"You...you made this?"

Alfred finally peeled himself from melding into the couch, sitting back with a heavy sigh, eyes closed and hands drooped over his lap. "Yeah, Arthur, I made it with my own two hands. I jabbed myself with the freaking sewing needle plenty of times to remember it."

Arthur glanced at Alfred's hands, but they looked the same as they have always done. "Oh. Oh, you made it. You sewn this with your own hands." He looked back to the teddy, to its limp, pink eyes. "Oh." He gave the right stump-arm another shake, and he smiled. He smiled and started to chuckle and then stuffed his face into the bear as he heaved into hysterics.

"Wha...? Arthur. Arthur! Hey!" Alfred shook his shoulders, "Are you crying? Is it that bad?!"

"Stop. Stop shaking me— _ah, ha-ha-ha!"_

"No! You're _laughing!"_ Alfred wailed in anguish. He slapped his palms over his eyes and gave his legs a kick. Arthur threw back his head, trying to draw in some air...trying. "It sucks! I know it does! It sucks so bad!"

Arthur sniffled, giggling again as pinched the teddy's fur to appraise it. Then he started laughing more.

Alfred smacked the couch, "Arthur! Urgh! Come 'ere!" He wound his arms around Arthur's waist and gave him a firm squeeze.

"Ha-ha-ack, _ack!"_

"Quit laughing, babe!"

"I can't!" Arthur sucked in a gasp of air, "Oh, god, I can't!"

Alfred stuffed his face into the crook of Arthur's neck, "It _sucks!_ There were so many beads and buttons and clips and fasteners and I couldn't decide on any of them so I just grabbed random ones, and..."

A sniffle, and Arthur finally calmed down somewhat (because his stomach was now sore) to wipe the sleeve of his sweater over his face. He blinked down at the teddy's threadbare smile with one of his own, and said, "It does suck. And I love it."

Alfred picked up his head. "You do?" Before Arthur could respond, "Nah, you're just saying that."

Arthur twisted to press a knuckle into his gut, earning a dramatic, _'Oof...'_

"I am not just saying that." He tucked his arms around the teddy and secured him to his body, "I find him charming in his own right."

"It's a horrible gift! I should have known-"

"It is not a horrible gift."

"It's bad when it's a _Christmas_ gift and it's the only thing I got you!"

They had a mini-staredown. Arthur held strong against Alfred's pleading puppy look. He did not falter at all. The flush against his cheeks was from laughing too hard, really. "I'm the one that receives the gift, and I say it's a good one."

"But you said it sucks!"

"Oh, yes, the sewing job? Horrible. I give this poor thing a few months, max. But it can be fixed. We can put in new eyes when the old ones fall out. We can sew the arms back on. Our time together, however...is the most precious gift of all." Arthur reached over to take Alfred's hand and thread their fingers together. Alfred pursed his lips and glanced down to his lap, so he nudged his shoulder, teasing, "I don't have to spend Christmas alone, nor the days leading up to it. I have a darling, handsome boyfriend here who never picked up a needle in his entire life, put so much time and effort into making me this lovely little teddy with his own two hands. It's more than adequate enough of a gift, thank you very much. So stop pitying yourself, it's unbecoming of you."

Alfred looked up again, meeting his eye. A smile twitched onto his face, blooming into something beautiful, "You really like that ugly thing?"

Arthur squeezed the teddy for a moment, gentle with the fragile stitching, and decided right then and there he would cuddle it every night. "That's subjective, and yes, I do." As the music switched for the next song, they pressed closer at the same moment for a kiss. The fairy lights, the goofy hat, the sound of Christmas covers drifting through the air, the linger of cocoa on their lips...none of it would be the same without Alfred. Arthur pulled away in the slightest to gaze upon the pink in his cheeks, the bluest of blue in his eyes, and truly, the best present of all was for him to be there. "I love you," he whispered. "Merry Christmas."

Alfred let out a teeny laugh, blinking fast. He was tearing up. "Merry Christmas, Arthur. I love you, too."

Arthur grinned, and pushed Alfred onto the cushions and their giggles mingled with the jingles. They had all the time that the holiday would bring. In the giving spirit, Arthur conspired to teach him how to sew. 


End file.
